Tonsou Ninja
by blackflames8
Summary: Naruto has been going through a lot of changes over the past 3 years. But nothing can prepare him for the changes, discoveries, and troubles he'll deal with on his hardest mission yet. Is he prepared for the outcast life that sits before him?
1. Choices

_Disclaimer: I do **not** own Naruto or any of the names, places, or events affiliated with it._

I lean back in my chair, staring at my reflection in the soup still left in the bottom of my ramen cup. Inside it floated a single scallion and I slowly swing the cup from side to sideand watch it move in different directions.

I think the question over a few times, trying to see if there was a way around not messing this up completely but so far I have drawn a blank. This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make and the Kyuubi's taunts aren't helping me think any better.

"What's the matter? Don't think you'll be able to handle it?" and "Are you afraid that you'll have to use me and lose control of your body?" seem to be the highlights of his speech, not like I'm thinking about that as an option or even a possibility.

Trying to ignore him is impossible because he can get into my thoughts. And since thinking was what I needed to do, I guess I will have to deal with him.

I look through the hollow doorway that leads to my bedroom. It's a mess, the blankets are hanging off the edge of the bed and my clothes are sprawled all over the floor. If someone were to make a hole in it, I'd fall right through without knowing what was happening. There is a dark-rimmed square on the wall where a poster of a girl in a bathing suit had once been hung. But things like that don't interest me anymore, I'm more interested in the real thing. Thereare crumpled up pieces of paper scattered on the floor as well where they poured out from the overflowing garbage can.

The living room/kitchen isn't much neater. The sink is at least clean but that isn't hard to maintain because all I eat nowadays is cup ramen which are stacked up on the counter. There are books scattered all over the place, most of them contained jutsus I have been trying to learn. Someare on strategy, as I found that mine seemed to be a bit weak, and others were from Tsunade-sama who thought studying leadership was important if I wanted to become the best Hokage the Konoha had seen. I guess she was right, but how should I have known?

The fold-up table that served as my desk and dining room table was cluttered with papers, some of which bored brownish stains from when my clumsy hands had knock over my ramen.

I hear a knock on the door and I look around lazily. "Come in."

The door slides open and I see Iruka-sensei standing in the doorway smiling. I guess he isn't really my sensei anymore, I am a Chuunin after all, but it just seems easier to call him that.

"Hello Naruto," he says.

"Hi," I reply half-heartedly. I'm too busy lost in my own thought to be excited, so instead I down the rest of my soup.

"Tsunade-sama told me about what happened earlier."

"Who didn't hear it?" I ask as I throw my cup to the other side of the table.

"Well I guess everyone in the village heard about it, you two _were_ a bit loud. I was just worried about what you're going to do next. I know the decision is up to you, but I don't want you to make one that won't suit you."

"No matter what I do, it won't suit me. I'll lose my dream or a teammate either way so it's not like it matters. But if I choose to go, I could be risking both."

"There are plenty of other shinobi willing to look--"

My laughter stops him mid-sentence. "Do you actually think they care? To them it's just another mission. They want practice so they'll become better and I'm sure some of them want to become Hokage, which is the only reason they'd do it. They know how much this mission means to the old bat."

"And to you," he adds. But the truth is that no one in this village could really care about something like that, no oneI know at least.

"I'd offer you a seat, but as you can see, it would probably be easier to stand."

"It's okay," he replies.

I look up at the ceiling, reflecting on what Tsunade had told me earlier that day.

"I'm sorry, but it cannot be helped, I will not allow you to go on this mission. Your connection with the target is too strong and could affect your decisions."

"But I have to," I told her.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but if you do, I will have to suspend you indefinitely."

I remember hanging my head, staring at the ground, wondering what to say next. "Why would she do that?" I finally decidedwas the right question to ask.

"Sakura had her own reasons I'm sure. As you may remember, she was frustrated, confused, and sad when Sasuke left. It is obvious that she got too impatient and went to retrieve him herself.

"Normally I would send you, but there is no way to tell how she would react to you. My guess would be that she might consider you an enemy for not bringing back Sasuke in the first place. I'm deeply sorry," she said in a sincere tone and I knew that was that. She wouldn't fight about this any longer and I was screwed.

I phase back to the present time and remember that Iruka is still there, quiet, perhaps watching me, waiting for me to say something that he can respond to. I lean forward on my chair and hear the loud bang as the front legs collide with the floor. I stand up and walk over to the couch, pulling off the books so there is room for Iruka to sit and I pull my chair across the room so it is facing the couch.

Iruka has already sat down by the time I look at him.

"I don't understand why Sakura-chan would do that? Just get up and leave. She didn't even tell me," I finally say.

"I know it's hard to understand, but you have to realize that she likes Sasuke a lot, and those feelings brought her to that decision."

"But Sasuke has never done anything for her. She's willing to risk her life for someone who doesn't even think about her."

I could see that Iruka was at a loss for words by this. This was the truth and there wasn't anything that could prove it different. So instead he stares at me for a while.

"And what about you? Look, I know how you feel about her," he said, seeing that I had gone silent. "It isn't hard to tell. But trust me when I say that it wouldn't be wise to go after her. She is a great medical ninja and we need her, butgoing after herwon't change her feelings for you. Her heart is dedicated to Sasuke and it isn't likely that she'll even treat you like a friend if you try to bring her back."

"But leaving her just means she'll be killed. I don't want that to happen."

"There will come a time when you have to realize that you and her will never work out. And I'm afraid to say you will have to move on. There are other girls out there that I'm sure you'll find are just as good, if not better than Sakura. It would just be risking too much to go after her."

I had never been angry at Iruka before, maybe frustrated because he expected so much out of me but now I can feel anger welling up inside me. "So you're saying that she isn't worth anything? That she's just another tool like myself?"

"No no, you misunderstood me," he says, waving his arms in front of him. "I mean that I think it's time you move on, try going after some other girl you have a better chance with--oh that didn't come out right," he says, pushing back the sides of his face with his hands. "But listen, your dream was to become the Hokage, do you really want to risk that dream for Sakura? And there's a chance she won't be alive even if you do reach her. And then you will have wasted your future for nothing. Is one person really worth your entire future?"

I stand up but remain where I am. "Maybe you're right, but someone once told me that sometimes you have to break the rules, even if it means compromising the mission. Tell me, do you think he was wrong?"

He looks at me strangely, not sure what to say but I know what he wants to say. "Believe what you want," I say harshly. "But I won't risk the life of my teammate because of some stupid dream, a stupid mission. This isn't about me anymore, it's about my friends, and my friends are worth more to me than any mission." I turn to the door and walk out, making sure to slam it shut as hard as I can. I can hearthe woodcrack and know Iwill have to fix it eventually, but now isn't the time.

I head down the stairs and out into the street. I'm not really going anywhere in particular but I know the person I am looking for will come to me.

It only takes ten minutes before I see him sitting on a fence, reading his book. "It's been a while," he says closing the book and replacing it in his knapsack. "Sorry I never really got caught up with you after you came with Jiraiya." He jumps down from the fence and takes a seat on the bench under it, gesturing for me to do the same.

I do and he begins to talk. "Well I'm sure there's not much to say, no matter what I say or do, you've already made up your mind. So why don't you tell me what your decision is."

"I actually haven't decided yet," I responded earnestly. "I want to do this, I want to go find her, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do. I was talking to Iruka-sensei--"

"I know, I heard everything. And I thank you for what you said. But when I told you that, back when we first met and you hadn't even become a Genin, I said that for a reason. It wasn't because you had to know that or because I knew that you would one day need to use that, I'm not that smart; it was because of my personal experiences. I figured that by telling you, you wouldn't make the same mistakes. It was my attempt at making a difference.

"But I never thought it would come down to something I said. But you aren't me, you won't make the same mistakes as me. If you haven't listened to anything I've told you, about teamwork, about anything, listen to this. Our choices and our abilities affect who we are. I was foolish enough to get one of my teammates killed by my poor choices but it is you who decides what happens. No one can tell you what to do. No one can stop you from making a choice that will affect your future. You choose what to do, and I'll support you every bit of the way."

I looked down at the ground and smile. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei," I say as I stand.

"I guess that means you've made up your mind?"

"What do you think?" But I didn't wait for his reply, I had a mission to get ready for.

_Just finished updating this chapter; for some reason I didn't notice that everything was in the past tense which makes everything I wrote sound stupid._


	2. Departure

"I don't think you should do this," Tsunade tells me as I stuff my clothes into my backpack. I'm notlistening though. At this point, anyone who stood in my way was an enemy and I don't feel like fighting her, I value my life thank you very much.

"Going on this mission will get you suspended indefinitely," she continues. "You must cease this behavior at once or you will leave me with that as my only option."

I ignore her and walk over to my dresser to get another pair of pants, then folded them and place them into my bag as well.

"At least have the decency to tell me why you are doing this."

I stare at her harshly for a while until I finally return to the task at hand. "You of all people should know why I'm doing this. We can't afford another loss. We have _no one_, and if we lose another person, we'll be at a tactical disadvantage."

"I already told you that I would have someone fetch her, but I specifically told you what would happen if you went."

"Do I look like I care?" I ask, turning to stare at her blank expression.

"What about becoming Hokage? Wasn't that your dream? And you're willing to throw that dream away for what? Surely not in the name of love or whatever 'noble' reason you have. A foolish move, might I add."

I smirk at this comment. "Well, if I'm foolish for trying to save her, I guess that makes you stupid for letting her go in the first place. You knew this might happen yet you let it happen anyway. One might find that a bit suspicious."

She frowns at me, like it was going to make me take back my words. But I meant what I said and nothing is going to change about that.

"Nothing you say will make me change my decision," she declared. I guess that's what you call it, but that probably makes this comment sound more powerful than it was.

"Then why are you still here? I didn't come over your house at two o'clock in the morning, not that I'd be that stupid. Sometimes you have to realize that you aren't always right. I've been wrong a lot in my lifetime and I'm sure you have as well. But unlike you, I learn from those mistakes. This time, I know I'm right."

"And how do you know that? Because in my opinion, you're at fault, not me. I merely came over to try and talk you out of this stupid idea of yours. After I already told you what could happen and the consequences of such actions, nonetheless. But I'm the stupid one?"

I sit down on my bed and looked up at the ceiling, nothing new about it though, the same crack from when I was younger and accidentally whacked my head on it. "You know why Kakashi-sensei has the Sharingan don't you? Or hasn't he told you?"

"No, he hasn't. Why?"

"When he first became a Jounin, he was sent on a four-man mission with his team and sensei, the Fourth. They were ambushed and one thing led to another, the details are a little fuzzy to me so what I say next might be a bit distorted. One of his teammates was captured, Rin, and she was a medical ninja like Sakura. Obito went after her but Kakashi waited a bit before going. When he finally joined them, he saw that they were being attacked and he helped them out. Kakashi lost hisright eye to one of the attackers. Obito was crushed by a boulder so that only half of his body was still, shall we say, alive. And as a gift, Obito gave him his newly obtained Sharingan as a replacement."

Seeing that I had fallen quiet, Tsunade began talking again. "That's very sad, but that has nothing to do with this."

"Au contraire, it has everything to do with this."

"How's that?"

"Because Obito shouldn't have died, there was no need for it. You see, had Kakashi-sensei not been so reluctant to help find Rin, they would all be here still. The rules told him that Rin was lost to them, but she wasn't and he recognized that he was a fool to follow the rules. So you see, it is my duty to protect my team. And in this instance, you are the rules.

"Sasuke has taken the place of Rin, Sakura of Obito, and me of Kakashi. If I don't act know, Sakura will die, I will not let that happen."

She looked slightly stunned at this last statement. My point had been made and with the emphasis I had expected. I stood up and grabbed my backpack to swing it over my shoulders but it wouldn't budge.

She was holding it too, not letting go and I know I can't prying it from her grip so I let it sag a little. "I will not let you go," she tells me, a look of determination now showing on her face.

"You don't have a choice, this is my decision and nothing you say is going to change it."

"Then hear this, I am upgrading my sentence. If you go on this mission, you will be banned from returning to the village."

I jerked my backpack free of her grip and throw it over my shoulders. I reached for my forehead protector and pulled out a kunai. I carved a slash through the middle of the Konoha symbol and throw it at her feet. "Then we are enemies."

And with that, I leave the room and walk through what used to be my cluttered living room and out the front door, leaving her staring dumbfoundedly at the forehead protector lying on the floor.

It's quiet outside, the sun has not yet reached out from the ground where it rested during the night. Iam alone on the streets but I could still hear the voices of the people who had long since drift into a deep slumber.

There are minimal shadows that are cast upon the ground by the lamp on the corner since most of it is from the darkness of the night. The wind sweeps through the trees and my hair, around my knuckles and past my face.

The dirt ground beneath my feet yields no noise from the pressure I apply to it. Perhaps it already knows that Iam no longer welcome on it but it my just be that I'm not stomping. I feel like Iam being watched but I know it was only Tsunade staring at me from my balcony.

For a second I think thatshe might be crazy enough to follow me, but I wasn't this lucky. I look back at her one final time. But what I see is not a look of sorrow but a look of determination.

Behind her, to my dismay, stood Kakashi and Iruka. What did they want? Like I don't already know, they either want to kill me or try to persuade me into staying.

But then my question is answered when Tsunade looks away and gives the order to attack.

They both step around her and then hop over the railing, plummeting to the ground below. They take their time reaching me, knowing that I won't try to run.

When they are within earshot Kakashi says "I'm sorry but this must be done."

"Like I can't already tell."

"Go easy on him Kakashi," Iruka pleaded.

"You know we can't do that. He has abandoned the Konoha, he is just another enemy to us. And as such, we will treat him in this manner. You would not treat your enemies with kindness would you? He is a trespasser on our village's ground and he will be treated like one."

"I don't ask for your mercy," I say. "But I ask for one thing before we start."

"Go on," Kakashipresses impatiently.

"Tell me, did you actually plan on doing this? Did you ever plan on killing your own student? Seems a little ironic, don't you think, that you're willing to sacrifice yourself to save the team, but when it's just me, it's a different story. I guess that's the way you've always thought of me, just another student; a part of your team that was meant to get something done or get out of the way. You probably hate me too, though I have no proof of this accusation. I suppose that had it not been for Sasuke and Sakura, you wouldn't have bothered. Because that's all I am, right? Just the host of the Kyuubi.

"And Iruka, I'm sure you've been waiting for this moment all your life; you finally get to kill the thing that killed your parents. Congratulations, I'm sure they would be proud of what you've become.

"I know the reason Tsunade sent both of you down here. It wasn't to kill me though she has probably advised you toif I don't cooperate,she wanted you to capture me before I could leave."

"Very perceptive," Kakashi said. "But it's kind of obvious that we can't afford the loss of another ninja at this point. Not to mention that it was you who told her that."

"Do I get any privacy? You are all just tools, nothing more. If it wasn't for the war at hand, they couldn't care less about you. Funny how that works."

"No matter what you say, you aren't getting away."

"Then let's fight and be done with this, though I cannot guarantee how much use I'll be even if you do succeed; you know what they say about forced labor."

He dashes towards me but I make no attempt to dodge, until the last second at least. I jumped to the side and as he passed made a swing at his back.

He disappears and reappears behind me, trying to catch me off guard, but I have long since learned this trick and repeated it.

It continues in this manner so that an observer would only here a whistling sound as our bodies cut through the air at tremendous speeds, a few glimpses of us as we reappear, twisted in various positions, and the occasional bang as a foot or a hand collides with a surface.

Finally Iam able to break away long enough to catch my breath. But Kakashi seemed perfectly fine, not in the least tired. He reached up and pulled back the forehead protector, and in its place is the Sharingan. It wasn't the one he had used when we were chasing that guy on the bird, but it was like the one Sasuke had obtained during our battle, three extra pupils per eye.

"Looks like I've underestimated you yet again," he says. "It's not the first time, but it is the first time I've had to use this against anyone younger than me. Let's see if you can handle this level."

Man am I in trouble. I check to see where Iruka is, maybe Kakashi is simply a diversion, but he remains where he was.

I charge, making my movements as obvious as possible. I would disappear as soon as I got within reaching distance and reappear right behind him for the attack. It won't work, that I know, butI have another little surprise in waiting.

When the timing is right, I execute my plan. Even in such speeds, I amstill able to see where he is and what he's doing. He was throwing his fist where I would soon reappear and I couldn't stop.

Everything slows down in an instant and I feel dizzy, I haven't yet gotten used to the stopping part but I won't show that weakness, and I can feel his fist and his cold stare upon me. "Nice try," he says.

"Kudos. But you forgot one thing," I said between short gasps.

"What's that?"

I didn't answer, but instead disappeared in a whiff of smoke.

"Where is he?" Kakashi asks, his eyes darting frantically around to find where I am.

"Up here!" I yell from the air as I crash down on him, pinning him to the ground with my weight. I quickly pull a kunai out of the small rectangular pouch I keep them in and place the tip against the back of his head. His rigid hair brushes up against my hands and I could feel the material of his hidden body armor against my knee. I quickly check to see if Iruka had moved but he remained planted where he has been from the start, and to which I am concerned for I have never seen him act in such a way.

"I don't want to do this," I tell Kakashi.

"Why not? You were so quick to leave, this should be nothing. You are a traitor and I'd never thought I'd say this but, you're no better than Orochimaru."

"Maybe, maybe not. But I don't think blood should be spilt over a dispute to which we are of the same opinion; it just doesn't seem logical. You know why I'm doing this and arguing against it is about as pointless as trying to stop me. Why are you going to waste away your life to Tsunade's rule. Don't get me wrong, she's a great leader and all, but attacking someone who has done nothing to you and in fact only cares for the survival of one of her own pupils; I think I know what I'm doing.

"I have not betrayed the Konoha, you have betrayed me; you told me you would back me up, yet you side with an opinion you don't agree with. She manipulted you into thinking I was the bad guy, I only care for this village and its people, more than even her. And it is for this that I must say my goodbye. Let us hope that all this won't be for nothing." And with that, I disappeared, leaving behind me a scene of utter chaos and the only place I called home.

_Edited this chapter too. I guess it's better now, no more past tense actions, bow on to chapter 3._


	3. Unwelcome Surprise

I was never there for that fight. It was merely a shadow clone, but one that I had been working on. It was still a clone but it was better than that. I can see and hear what it sees and hears, it can use my chakra if I willed it to, and it didn't disappear in a whiff of smoke like the rest.

I was amazed that my plan actually worked on the Sharingan, it was very simple too. Moving at such high speeds, if you can keep up with that when it comes to hand seals, you can use a jutsu in a certain place and it will activate there. The Sharingan only shows the final product of a move, and I assumed that if it didn't know of another entity, it couldn't predict its movements. So Kakashi only saw that the clone would reappear behind him, but I made the clone jump over him and use the Kage Bunshin before reappearing behind him.

Pure genius, if I do say so myself.

By the time the fight was over, I had long since passed through the large wooden gates that led to the outside world. This was my home now and I didn't like it.

It's quiet, the only sounds emanating from my footsteps and the gentle, yet annoyingly repetitive chirping crickets. Occasionally the windblows through the trees and makes a rustling sound that puts me a bit on edge.

It's still dark out but the sun will soon be rising, bringing with it much needed light and warmth. It is very hard to see and at areas of the path where I know the trail narrows, I find myself with my hands out in front of me to avoid running into a tree.

Lucky me because no sooner had I done this than my hand had brushed up against the rough bark of a tree.

But all the same I know where I'm going. I was going to find Sakura and no tree was going to stop me. Or person. I guess the latter of the two is a bit more dangerous.

Who am I kidding. I have no clue where I'm going let alone where Sakura went. And even if there were some obvious markings to show her path, it was too dark to see much of anything.

I found another tree, or more-or-less almost ran into it, and sat down at its base, making sure to take off my backpack before doing so. The rough bark scraped against my upper back where there was minimal protection from my body armor. I wasn't tired or anything--okay maybe a bit but that's not because I've been walking so long, I'm just tired of this darkness.

Back at home--I mean that place I once lived--did that even sound right? I wonder how runaways think. Maybe they think like I'm thinking now, or do they think about the way other people like them think? "Ugh, this is too confusing."

I wait for a while, not really thinking about anything until the sun's rays at last reach over the horizon. I can see, it's a miracle! So I stand up and place my backpack over my shoulders yet again as I resume my venture.

At about 12:30 I stop to eat on a tree stump near some village. I do not know this village, I have seen it from a distance many times but every time I would ask to go into it, we were far too busy even after a D-rank mission. I _would_ go into town but it's not like it would do me any good to watch people staring at me as I eat on curb. When I am finally done, I place the remainder of my rations for the day into my backpack and head into town, maybe I'll be able to scrounge up something on Sakura there.

It's a good thing I keep a picture of our team on me at all times or it would have to explain what she looks like. How am I supposed to know how many pink-haired, green-eyed girls there are in this town?

None.

I've been through the whole town and not only haven't I found Sakura, I haven't seen anyone with pink hair at all. I've already checked the obvious places: hotels, restaurants, on the streets in general, but I didn't expect to find her there. She is after all a ninja, trained in the ways of stealth so she probably went to someone's house and asked for food and shelter in exchange for labor.

My guess is an old woman near the middle of the village who is always complaining about the noise but is too poor to do anything about it.

According to one of the children I asked at the edge of town, there just so happens to be one person who fits that description.

I quickly memorized the directions to the house and thanked them.

The town itself is nice. It's a lot like my old village only the streets are more vibrant here. Throughout each street can be seen children playing different games. I stopped once to watch a group of them who appeared to be pretending to be ninja. I smiled at the thought, such innocent children, yet they play a silhouette of death.

But one of them catches my eye. A blonde-haired boy with what appeared to be three scratches on either side of his face. He is hiding right now, behind the corner of a building, watching one of his brown-haired playmates edging closer towards him as what appeared to be one of the boy's teammates made several attempts to hit the boy, drawing him closer to this hidden boy.

But the blonde-haired boy hops from behind the corner and launches himself over the brown-haired boy. The attacker falls to the ground and the boy places a stick length-wise at the boy's neck like a kunai.

I was stunned to say the least. Not only had this kid fooled me into thinking that he was waiting to pounce on the brown-haired boy, but that he had jumped over this kid, who had to be at least five years older than him, with such expertise as to only say that he was a ninja or was training to become one.

"Hey, you!" I call to him.

He turns around to see who is calling him but when his gaze meets my mine, he steps back.

"I'm not going to hurt you," was my reaction, though I think that was obvious. He is stunned by the same thing I was, our likeness.

He turns around and bolts off; he is fast.

I give chase though it's hard trying to avoid all the people. I'm slowly gaining on him, but every time I get within grabbing distance, he makes a sharp turn and I have to skid to a stop before turning.

I can't tell where he's going or if he is just trying to lose me.

I'm getting close again and I make to reach for his shirt but he dropps to the ground and slides under a cart that is passing by. I, who was unaware of this cart, try to stop but trip and spiral out of control on the floor and make my inevitable collision with the cart.

My head is aching when I finally regain consciousness. There are several people stooped over me, and I can make out their faces but only barely. Two girls and a man. They all looked alike so I assume they're family or something like it.

When I sit up, they back away like I amdangerous or something.

"Where did that kid go?" I ask stupidly.

"Kid? What kid?" the man asks. I recognize him as the man pushing the cart I crashed into.

"I was chasing a kid. didn't you see him? He kinda looked like me but younger, maybe nine."

"The Uzumaki boy?"

"Uzumaki?"

"Yeah, haven't you heard of the Uzumakis? They're really famous in this town. They have a son, Kyouryoku Uzumaki, great boy. You must be new here."

"How can you tell?"

"Well, because I've never seen you here. And you don't even know the Uzamakis--say, you look a lot like them, you know that?"

"Yeah, that's why I was following him. I always thought that I was the last of the Uzamakis."

"That's not possible. The only Uzumakis live in this town. It has been so for a long time. And the only way you could be related to them is if you're--"

But he stops short. Something tells me I already knew what he was going to say but I wasn't going to jump to conclusions.

"If I'm who?" I ask.

He hesitates for a minute, not sure what to say or whether to say it. But he didn't answer my question, or at least not directly when he spoke. "About 18 years ago or so, the Kyuubi threatened to destroy the Konoha. You were either too young to remember or you weren't born yet. The Kyuubi destroyed our village, but luckily enough, everyone made it out alive. It just so happened that that was the night the fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi's spirit.

"I was running for shelter when it came and I hid in the hospital.. I tried to ignore the screams coming from the room next to me at first, but then I realized that wasn't working so I went into the room. By this time, the Kyuubi had been sealed by the Hokage. In it was a single child, a boy with the Uzumaki symbol upon his stomach.

But someone came and brought him away, a man. Later after theclean upwas over, I went outside and found that sameman lying dead in the middle of the street, but there was no child. I never saw how it happened or how he would be dead after the Kyuubi was already sealed but I was later told that a group of fire villagers had come through and killed anyone in their way. It was heartbreaking to tell the Uzumakis, but some say that their son is still out there."

He drifted off and I knew at once everything, why I had been kept inside the village, why we had always kept away from this village on missions, and who the missing son was. But I wasn't prepared to believe it. I had to find out from these so-called Uzumakis.

After some more listening to the merchant, I was finally able to squeeze out some information on the whereabouts of the Uzumaki family.

So here I am in front of the house which, to be honest, doesn't look like it would belong to the most famous people in the village.

Inside, on the second floor, I see the boy from earlier staring nervously out of a window. But other than that, there appears to be no signs of inhabitance.

I take a deep breath and step onto the porch but before I get to the door, it is opened. In the doorway, stands two adults; a well-built man who definitely has my hair and facial features, and a woman with long brown hair, that is obviously tied into a bun, that has my eyes.

"Our son told us you would be coming," the woman said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Uzumaki?" I ask, feeling a bit stupid about the question as I already knew the answer.

"We will ask the questions," the man said declaratively.

I nodded, I wasn't in a position to bargain.

"Why were you following my son?" he asked. "Or do you not have a legitimate reason?"

"I'm not sure if you'd consider it legitimate, but it was because I thought he looks a lot like me. I'm not exactly sure why but he reminded me of myself when I was younger," I answer. How stupid did that sound?

"And do you find this a good reason to chase him through the streets?"

"I didn't mean any harm. I only wanted to know his name. I thought I knew him from somewhere."

They looked at each other for a few seconds before the woman spoke again. "What is your name?" she asked suddenly.

"Naruto," I respond. I don't want to give the impression that I'm trying to impersonate their son when I'm not sure that I am.

The woman put her hand the her lips, touching them gently with the side of her index finger. Neji had said this was a sign of remembrance of pain.

"Last name?" the man asked abruptly. I didn't answer, afraid of saying something that could get me in trouble. "Last name?" he said more powerfully this time.

"Naruto…" But the name clung to my mouth, not letting go. "Naruto…" I tried again.

"Uzumaki." But it wasn't my voice, I look around the two adults in front of me and saw the boy frowning in the doorway behind them. "Just like the last kid that tried this. You're just pretending to be my dead brother so you can get a place to live."

"What?" I ask. "I don't want a place to live, I just saw you on the streets and noticed that you looked like me. All I wanted to know was your name but you ran away."

"Do you have any tattoos?" the man asked.

I was sure that a look of shock passed over my face. "Yeah, one. But I've had it since before I can remember. Some stupid numbers but I don't know what they mean."

"Show me," he ordered. I turned around and lifted my shirt up to my shoulder blade where the tattoo was, it was a simple one, just the numbers 25499, but apparently they had some meaning to these people.

I let my shirt back down after a few seconds and turned around again. By now, the woman had started breaking into tears, but the man doesn't seem as convinced.

"Look. I don't want any trouble, I just came here looking for closure and if you can't give it to me, then I'll be on my way."

"W cannot provide closure for you for we have no way of proving you're our son or not. You bear his birth number and the characteristics of an Uzumaki, but unless you can use the bloodline of the Uzumaki's you are without sufficient proof."

"Uzumaki bloodline?"

"Yes. Though it would be pointless to tell you about it."

"There's an Uzumaki bloodline? I thought that the Uchihas and Hyuugaswere the only ones with that in the Konoha."

"Normally yes, people would lead you to believe this. But then again, no one has lived to tell the tale of its use."

"How is it activated?" I ask.

"It won't matter if I tell you or not, you still won't be able to use it."

"Then just tell me! If I won't be able to use it, then what's wrong with telling me?"

He sighed, seeing the determination in my eyes. "Fine. But if I tell you, and you fail to complete it, I will kill you."

Great, more pressure. As if I didn't already have enough to begin with. And I'm supposed to be looking for Sakura right now. I doubt she even passed through this town. "Okay," I agree.

"Stare at your target and think the words 'Seiryoku Toridasu'. Simple as that."

I stared at him confusedly. "How will I know if it's working?"

"Well for starters, I won't be trying to kill you. And second, use a jutsu. If you are an Uzumaki, then this technique will work and you won't have to use any chakra. If you're not, then I'll kill you. I will be the target, in case you're wondering. No pressure, it's only your life on the line."

This is too risky, but if I don't prove that I could do this, I'd be killed so I guess I'll have to get this right the first time around. I take a deep breath and stared hard at this man. _Seiryoku Toridasu!_

As soon as I had thought these words, I noticed that Mr. Uzumaki twitched slightly. He seemed aware of this too and ordered me to use a jutsu.

So I did the easiest one I knew, the Kage Bunshin; but instead of preparing my chakra for the move, I just used the technique. To my own surprise, a shadow clone appeared at my side and I could see that Mr. Uzumaki felt something, probably the chakra being sucked from his body. And now I realize how stupid it seems to identify him as Mr. Uzumaki.

I destroy the clone and he regains his composure. At this point the woman whom I can probably consider my mother is bawling her eyes out, it is a bit embarrassing because people are starting to stare and I hope they aren't going to try and come over here.

But this notion is quickly dismissed when they offered me into their house.

We sit down at the kitchen table and Mrs. Uzumaki made some tea before anyone spoke--why am I still referring to them as Mr. and Mrs.? This is so weird.

As mom--that doesn't sound right either--poured the tea, this…man, I guess I'll call him, begins to talk. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Eighteen. And if you don't mind me asking, what should I call you?"

"My name is Ken'ichi Uzumaki and this is my wife, Akino. We are the only descendants of the Uzumaki family besides our son that we were sure of. The Uzumaki family was once a force to be reckoned with, unbeatable even by the Uchihas. But as you can probably guess, something bad happened."

He paused for a moment, looking at the contents of his cup. "At the peak of our power, we became foolish and began to wipe each other out, insane for more power. We distanced ourselves all around the planet and in essence, created the foundations of all the nations. And one by one, we were struck down. You see, there was a flaw to our powers. With each Uzumaki that is killed, the power of our techniques increases.

"And then it happened. One from each of the nine Uzumaki-created nations. They summoned forth the gods to do their bidding. These nine gods were known as the Bijuus, but I'm sure you already knew about them.

"But the gods were angered by this, mere mortals attempting to control them, themost powerful beings in the universe. They turned against us and instead of waging war with each other, banded together and fought against us. It was only a day or two before we had realized the devastation these creatures were capable of and we had to stop them, had to destroy them."

I grabbed my stomach under the table and he saw this. He shook his head slowly, as if knowing my thoughts.

"That's not what you think it is. I'm sure you've been told by now that the Fourth sealed the Kyuubi into the bellybutton of a child, am I right? This is wrong, a lie if you will. Don't get me wrong, he did save the village, but all is not as it seems. The sign on your stomach proves that you are a descendant of the Uzumaki clan. But I regret to inform you that the Kyuubi is not inside of you as you think it is."

I swallowed hard, I can feel my own insides being clawed at in anticipation. Yet I don't want to know. I wish I hadn't come, then this wouldn't be happening--why did I come here?

And then he said the words I dreaded most. "You are Kyuubi."

_Fixed this one as well. Hope you liked it._


	4. Too Many Changes

-1"This is a joke, right?" I ask. I don't want to believe that this is true, it's bad enough that I have to deal with Kyuubi, but now he's telling me I _am_ Kyuubi. It just isn't possible. "How come I can hear him in my head if he is me? Shouldn't I at least hear him in my own voice?"

"Voice is how you perceive it; if you wanted to, you could make it sound like a baby talking, though I don't much see the point in that."

My head was spinning and I could hear Kyuubi--me, or whatever it was, laughing.

"You hear his voice even now, but that doesn't change what you are, what you've become. You are the Kyuubi and it is you. Its voice exists only because you want it to. It isn't there, just an illusion your mind has created to force the idea of you and Kyuubi being one out of your mind. You never wanted it, yet you knew that it was true."

I stand up quickly, knocking my chair to the floor and slamming my palms on the table. "Shut up!" I yell, but I don't know why I am yelling, he's right across the table; but his expression is calm, unmoved by my yelling. "Why me? Why, of all the people on the planet, did you use me? Was I just another tool? Something you could use and then throw away? I am your son am I not? Yet you sold my body without consent to be the host of this demon?"

"You mean yourself; though that doesn't much make sense, you never did exist. Your body was given to the gods before you were even conceived. But if it makes you feel any better, we still missed you after you were gone."

"Missed me! How the hell did you miss me? Did you make any attempts to find me? Because not once did I ever even hear that someone was looking for me. And if you did, it probably wasn't even because you missed me; you just wanted my power."

"Bravo," he applauded. "You managed to figure it all out. But then so what? So what if all we wanted was power? Do you yourself not search for a power stronger than your own? Or are you content with the pathetic level of energy you have under your immediate control?"

"I would never use someone else to get stronger; I always do things the hard way, the right way. I train and train until I can't feel most of my body, but you would rather steal it from my body. You would rather take the easy way out and steal a person's right to life before they're even born."

"Such a preacher, just like that pink-haired girl that came through here. All she talked about was that stupid Sasuke Uchiha that she was going to find and about her teammate she had to leave behind. I tried reasoning with her, telling her that this Uchiha was a useless piece of crap, his brother is the only one of them who even deserves to live; such power, such command and at that age. But she was so sure his brother, the genius Sasuke Uchiha, was her reason for living. Just another weak, love-sick girl running after a weak Uchiha boy.

"And so what if I did steal your body for my own purpose? Not a lot of good it's going to do now. And I don't regret doing that. In truth I never wanted a son, especially one so weak and stupid as you."

"Sakura came through here?"

"Something like that, let me guess, you're her teammate? No wonder Sasuke left you two, I'm sure he was a lot stronger than both of you combined and was tired of being held back. If you're stupid enough to want to follow her, she left this morning and headed towards the next town, I'm sure you'll find the loser there crying her eyes out."

"Shut up!" I yell. I am really getting pissed off at this guy, one more comment like that and he is going to get it.

"Will you two stop fighting?" Akino pleads.

"Stay out of this," Ken'ichi replies.

"Who the hell are you to tell her what to do? you low-life bastard."

"I am the man of this house and what I say goes. Those who don't like it are punished. And since you belong to this house, I will punish you accordingly as well."

It is the first time I noticed, but Akino definitely seems to have several bruises and I can only guess who did this to her based on this last comment.

I see Ken'ichi stand up and I prepare myself, but he instead turns to his wife and raises his hand.

I quickly spring forward and take him by surprise, slamming him into the counter and sending several dishes ground-ward were they break. I can feel anger welling up inside of me and I know what will happen next if I don't calm down. But I can't leave and risk Akino or Kyouryoku getting hurt. So I get to my feet and grab Ken'ichi by the wrist and fling him into the wall which he smashes through and rolls to a stop on the ground outside.

But to my surprise, Kyouryoku jumps on my back and tries to strangle me. I thought I was just saving him and now I get this? I'll admit, the kid's got some strength, but he is no match for me and being as short as he is, I easily grab his ankle and hoist him up into the air. Even now though, he continues to swing his fists furiously at the air and it's almost comical, had it not been for the fact that I know he's really was trying to hit me.

I wasn't going to let him of course. So instead I walk him towards the nearest door making sure to keep my legs at a distance from his thrashing fists and deposit him into the room. He quickly gets to his feet and dashes towards the door but I close it before he can reach it.

So now I have an unconscious father outside with an increasingly larger amount of passersby beginning to crowd around him, a little brother locked in a room, and my mother quivering in fear on the floor behind me.

Gotta love family get-togethers. So much fun aren't they?

But now I think it's time to leave because I can see the villagers helping Ken'ichi up and he pushes them away, his body slouched a little bit but he still looks very formidable. He looks at me and I don't even know how to describe the anger in his face.

One of the villagers seems to be trying to reason with him but as soon as he steps in front of him, he is thrown into the nearest tree. This guy is a real ass if you ask me.

I don't want him to come into the house so I instead jump out the hole in the wall to face him there.

I check my surroundings through my peripherals and I note a tree five meters on my left and a sturdy-looking picket fence to my right two meters away. Another tree to my north-northwest about seven meters away with a single visible branch that looks to be able to hold a lot of weight, and a utility pole on the curb across the street.

So that means…. No, five meters north, got it.

He is now preparing himself for the fight, though it won't be much of a fight, a minute or two if all goes well. I notice his hand slips into his pocket and pulls something black out, a kunai, but he's trying to hide it; apparently he doesn't know I saw it. Either way it'll play into my plan.

He charges and about halfway to me, throws the kunai. So I jump towards the tree, step one in my plan. He stops and smiles but it is too late when I realize why. I can feel the heat and pressure and I know I have triggered a trap, an exploding trap to be exact. The explosion finally hits me and tosses me into the air.

I somehow manage to regain my bearings before I fall to the ground but my entire body aches. Man he's good, I can barely feel my body. But how did he do that? Maybe…duh, he threw that guy into that tree, he must have placed the tag on his back or something. I can still feel the heat from that explosion.

"Had enough yet boy?" he asks me.

I smile and reply, "I'm just getting warmed up."

"Really, I thought you were on fire already." Normally this kind of comment wouldn't affect me, but when he points to my midsection and laughs, I'm sure there's something wrong. I reluctantly looked down and see fire emanating from my ass. Great, that'll be a story for my kids, if I live that long. I quickly put the fire out and he attacks again; this time I am prepared for anything.

He swings his fist at me a few times butI easily push them away. I counterattack his last strike with one of my own that sends him skidding backwards a few feet.

He pulls out a summoning scroll and activates it. A puff of smoke appears and in Ken'ichi's hand I can see the single largest sword I have ever seen; even Kisame's sword isn't this big, well maybe about as long but definitely not as wide. And this one is about as thick as a regular katana and looks about as sharp as one two, maybe sharper and itlooks to be fast too.

"The Uzumaki family sword," he tells me and I know there's something special about it.

"That thing is huge, you think our ancestors might have been compensating for--"

"I would hold you tongue if I were you. The Uzumaki name is not one to be mocked."

"True, you just almost destroyed the world, nothing wrong with that is there? I mean it's not like you actually did but hey, who's keeping score?"

Well a minute's passed, and I haven't even gotten halfway through my plan, and this sword could cause some serious complications. I might actually have to use Kyuubi or myself or whatever you call it. I wonder why I can't use the Kyuubi's power whenever I want, seems a bit strange that I should be able to use my own power.

Ken'ichiisn't moving so I dare not move either, but there's something weird about him, he seems to be getting tired just holding that sword; maybe it's too heavy for him. Wishful thinking but I doubt it, something's up and I don't want to be around to find out what it is. So it's time to execute the plan whether he notices or not, because if he does, it'll be too late anyway.

I run towards the fence but stop mid-step as I notice Ken'ichi has cut me off. I turn again but he is still there, the sword stillresting on his shoulder. He still seems tired but I don't understand how he can move so fast especially with that sword, maybe that's one of its powers.

I doubt that though so I have to attack him, maybe it's a clone. I focus chakra into my feet so he won't have time to dodge and strike him. He disappears in a puff of smoke; I was right, it's a clone, that's how he's moving so fast. But the real one has to be around here somewhere, I just have to find him.

He must be in the trees so I pull some shuriken out and begin throwing them at the trees.

No movement. I search frantically around for any sign of his presence and it is then that I see him, but how I see him is beyond me.

A sharp pain in my skull sends me to my knees clutching my head. I'm on the verge of screaming but my head hurts too much to even move my mouth which is stuck in a wide gape. My eyes are tightly shut and this is when it first happens. I see the blackness of my closed eyelids and then I see the ground, beyond the ground into the dirt and at the same time the spectators of this fight.

I see more though; I see them, but then I see that same person, a shadow of them but them all the same, and that shadow disappears a few seconds later as its true self moves into place. Now I can see blue-tinted strings running through their bodies and something is moving inside them though it is not as prominent as my own and Ken'ichi's. I see myself from under the ground a few meters off judging by how small I seem and I know this to be the place Ken'ichi hides. Everything seems faster, and then it gets slower. I can see the village ahead, the people in it and at the same time I can see my cells, the molecules that make up my body.

This is all too confusing. Some of these images I have heard of, but I can't remember where. I try focusing on one of these images but it is hard. I finally narrow it down to the three hundred-sixty degree and foresight vision, if it could be called that. Somehow I remember these the most, like they've been used against me.

No sooner had I done this than Ken'ichi had burrowed his way under me. The shadow of his hands were around my ankles and then I see his hand begin to slip through the dirtso I jump up and as the shadows connect with his hands, I stomp down on them, then before he can pull them back, I grab them and rip him out of the ground.

He wrenches free of my grip and jumps back. He smiles, obviously seeing something that I don't and then a shadow of him appears, his fist extended to my face. So I wait for him to make his move and sure enough, he does, but I am ready for him. I grab his fist, jump and grab his arm with my legs and spin myself so that he falls on his back. But another shadow appears immediately and I twist my body so he will miss and put me in a position for another attack.

Hisleg slips under my armand I wrap my own arm aroundit and fall backwards, propelling him through the air. Another shadow appears after he gets up and charges again,this oneis yet again aimed at my face. I bow backwards and I see he's going to try and kick me in the nuts, so I lift off the ground and bring my feet up to kick him in the chest but he is going to turn sideways to dodge this judging by the position of the next shadow. In this position, there isn't muchI can do butmy arms finally reach the ground and I push off again to avoid another hit.

I focus more chakra into my feet to and when my feet connect with the ground, I release it and plow into Ken'ichi.

He stumbles backwards but I see no more shadows except from the subtle movements of his breathing. And it is then that I realize I have not opened my eyes. I see a new shadow of him a few feet back and I'm assuming it's from me opening my eyes.

So I open them and he aligns with his shadow, his face appears to be stricken with fear. I try to focus on that one vision I had before where I could see myself from his eyes and eliminate the ones I was using. When I am finally successful in this, I see why he looks so scared. My eyes are completely black, every last bit of them.

"Junsui na Ketsueki," he mumbles. I do not hear this but I somehow know this is what he says. "It's not possible. How can you possess such a skill?"

"What is it? What does it mean?" I ask semi-retardedly. I already know that it means 'pure blood' and that he's going to say that.

"It means pure blood." Knew it. "It can only be used by someone who's direct family has remained pure since the creation of man. The gods created two groups of man, those who possessed bloodlines and those who didn't. Over time those with bloodlines began to merge with those who didn't, thus creating the many different bloodlines that exist today.

"But those who didn't merge held tight to their bloodline, a bloodline unparallel by any other in the world. I knew someone with this bloodline, I thought they were the only person left with this bloodline and I can't imagine how you obtained it. The Uzumaki family is one of the merged families, yet you can use this technique. There is no way you're a son of mine. And even if you are, it is impossible for you to use that technique therefore you are either a very good fake or I don't know what else."

"I never said I was your son in the first place, that was you," I remind him. By now my vision has returned to its normal self and I can see him truly. Something is missing though…. My visions shoot back and I can see it, right through me, the sword.

I hear it break through the ground and I begin to panic. If I don't move fast enough, I'm as good as dead, but I can't move that fast so I'm screwed anyway. I prepare myself for the impact but it doesn't come. I stare at the sword and I realize that its movement has slowed to a crawl.

Not wanting to take the situation for granted, I stepped to the side and walked around the massive sword to grasp the handle as it crawled out of the ground. I heard the Kyuubi's voice--what do I call him now that I know we're the same thing? Isn't that like talking to myself? _You're welcome,_ he says in an almost haughty tone.

_Hey, now is not the time to get arrogant, you saved me but really you were just saving yourself but you're me and that means you didn't really do anything that you wouldn't have done for yourself, but you are myself which is really yourself--_

_Just shut up and pay attention, baka._

Why am I listening to this stupid fox? I thought you weren't supposed to listen to the voices in your head.

_I heard that,_ he retorts.

Time seems to have returned to normal and Ken'ichi's jaw has fallen lower, if possible. But he looks at the sword and I can feel it tugging in my hand. Maybe I can fight back; it's a small chance and I doubt it will work, but I am an Uzumaki and it might listen to any Uzumaki, not just the one who summoned it.

I stare at the sword, trying to think of something that I should think to it. _Stay_, I finally decide and it appears to work, the yanking has lessened and then it stops all together.

Ken'ichi pulls the scroll out and throws it at my feet, disgusted at the action itself but he apparently has no choice or he would have just un-summoned and re-summoned it.

The sword disappears and I pick up the scroll in its place and stare blankly at it. Then I look at him but he has already turned away and begun to walk into the house. "Go," he finally says as he reaches the top of the stairs. "Before I change my mind. We may not like each other, and I'm sure that's true of both of us. But we are still family; so if you call upon us, we'll be there for you." He opens the door and throws my backpack to me and disappears behind the door as it gently clicks into place.

I pocket the scroll and place my backpack once again on my backpack.

The door swings open again and I hear Ken'ichi's voice again. "If you want to learn to control that bloodline, go to the hidden village of sand. Ask for Kyoko and they will lead you to her."

_Wow, what a crazy idiot, or was that some kind of test? No I don't think it was but what's with the complete mood swing? One minute he's trying to pound my face in and the next he's giving me the family sword and handing me my stuff. I am so glad I don't live with these people._

_But now I have a choice, find Sakura or find out more about this bloodline. Luckily they're both in the same direction. But it's still a risk not going for Sakura first, she could get captured before that. I guess I'll have to take that risk, hopefully she'll be smart enough to not get caught or I'm gonna really regret this._

This chapter has been fixed as well. Thanks to vixypixyno.9 on for pointing out the lack of coherency for this chapter's battle. Hope you enjoyed it though.


	5. The Kazekage's Girlfriend

-1Chapter 5: The Kazekage's Girlfriend

It is quiet inside his office but I respect that because it's not like they have someone as crazy and loud as I used to be. One of his assistants, a lovely woman of about twenty-three offers me tea and I accept before she disappears behind the sliding door.

I take a sip and look around, his office has changed a lot since I was last here. There are some pictures of a woman and himself, maybe a close acquaintance or even a girlfriend but I doubt people in his position have those.. The woman in the pictures is also beautiful, her red hair matches his and I notice that his hair has also grown.

Her eyes are a contrast to his but then again, no one I know or have seen has eyes like him…well maybe, but not exactly, not even close.

There are other pictures, pictures of his brother and sister.

I hear the door slide open and I turn around to see if it's him; it is, though I didn't really expect to see anyone else.

I stand and bow, just to be polite and I notice that the girl from the pictures has made her way in behind him.

"There is no need for that," he tells me. "You are in the company of friends. Make yourself at home." He walks around me pulling this girl by the hand and gets a chair from the side of the room. He takes a seat on the chair and the girls sits on his lap, their hands entwined on her lap.

"It's been a while, Gaara," I say.

"Yes it has, though technically we are not supposed to be meeting."

I feel a look of confusion wipe over my face. "Why?"

"Well, as you know, we are in alliance with the Konoha." Even the name makes me wince now, maybe in hate, maybe in sorrow, not exactly sure which. "Tsunade has told me of your betrayal to them and advised me to treat you like a common criminal. However, you saved me and for that, I owe you my life. And she did not explain why you abandoned them, so I wish to hear your side of the story. And it would be wise to tell me the truth."

"I didn't have any intention of lying to you," I inform him. "And I did not abandon them, they got rid of me--well really, I went against Tsunade's wishes."

"Which were?"

"Sakura has run away," I say bluntly. "Tsunade refused to let me retrieve her saying that there was no telling what would happen to me. She said that she felt bad about it too and would have someone on it as soon as they were available. I argued that it would be too late and she told me that I would be suspended. When I finally made my decision she upgraded her suspension to full expulsion.

"And when this didn't work, she had me attacked by Kakashi and Iruka. Lucky for me, I had foreseen this and created a clone of myself so I was long gone by the end of the fight."

He sat there, taking everything in before he finally spoke. "Maybe I can convince her otherwise. I can't promise anything but, it's worth a try.

"Tell me though, did you not say that you wanted to become the Hokage?" I nod. "Then why would you give that up?"

"Because sometimes, sacrifices must be made to save those you love." I have no idea where that came from. "I will not let my teammate be caught by Orochimaru's thugs. I will risk _anything_ to save my team. I risked my life when I chased after Sasuke and I destroyed my chances of becoming anything more than a common criminal in the eyes of my friends."

"Sakura ran after Sasuke? How can she still be obsessing over him, it's been how many years? Three and a half? Surely he has lost his body to Orochimaru by now."

"No one knows. There haven't been any sightings of anyone working for Orochimaru since he left."

"I think it's cute," the girl on Gaara's lap says.

"It's actually a bit different than the way it sounds, miss. By the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, my name is Haru. I already know your name though, Gaara's told me all about you. I know I might sound a bit intrusive but I wish to know if you have a girlfriend? That is the only thing Gaara has not told me about."

I blush a little, the answer is simple but a bit embarrassing. "No," I finally say.

"That's ashamed, I would have thought that someone such as yourself would have found someone you wish to settle down with. You're a good looking guy and I wouldn't see any reason you shouldn't have girls hanging off you."

I blush deeper but luckily Gaara changes the subject.

"I know I'm probably not supposed to tell you this but I will. Sakura has come through here; briefly just to get some sleep and something to eat but left before anyone had woken. She told us that she was on a mission but I hadn't thought she'd be one to lie so I didn't bother to check with Tsunade."

"I already knew that, my um…someone I thought I could have trusted, told me she was headed this way."

"And this person was?" he asks.

"I'd uh, really rather not talk about it," I say honestly.

"Well I'm sure there's a good reason for that but the least you could do is tell me who it was, I don't think it should be so hard to give out a name especially to one such as myself."

I sigh. "There is a family in the town next to my old village that--they didn't want me to know about them. They kept the truth hidden from me, lied to me all my life. Before I became a Genin, one of the Chuunins told me that I was the holder of the Kyuubi, a Jinchuuriki like yourself.

"It was a lie…I _am_ Kyuubi."

He has fallen silent at these last words, though I don't much blame him. "Who told you this?" he finally asks.

I sigh again and turn my head away. "When I first saw one of them in the streets, I didn't believe that it was possible, thought that I must have been dreaming or something. He was a little boy by the name of Kyouryoku Uzumaki."

Again he has fallen silent.

"I know it doesn't make sense, it didn't to me but it's true or it may be, I'm not exactly sure because there is one thing that might disprove this theory."

"What's that? It's not like you could surprise me worse than you already have," he says casually.

"Then I think it would be best to show you to make sure there is no confusion as to what I would be able to tell you."

_Okay Kyuubi, you know how to activate this bloodline so do it._

I feel the change and then I begin to see the slight shadows of Haru and Gaara's breathing and their shocked faces which eventually align. The girl, however seems a lot more shocked though I doubt she's ever seen something like that happen.

"What is that?" Haru asks.

"It's a bloodline, one I just come to have. But it isn't an ordinary bloodline, it's all the bloodlines mixed, supposedly only usable by those who's family haven't mixed with those who didn't have a bloodline.

"The only theory I have thought up is that because the gods gave humans these bloodlines, combining my body with one of them would allow me to be given this ability. The only two questions I have are why haven't you been given this bloodline? and why didn't I have this before?"

"Two very good questions at that."

"That is the other reason why I came here. They told me that the only person who could help me was someone named Kyoko."

This name seems to bring a bit of confusion to their faces. "That's impossible," Gaara informs me. "The only person with the name Kyoko is Haru here, it's her middle name."

But the girl does not acknowledge his words, doesn't even take her eyes off me when he reaches his head forward to look at her face. He looks worried but then again, I'm sure I do too.

"Um, Miss, is everything alright?" I ask her.

But something about her doesn't seem right. It doesn't make sense though, why would he lie to me about this person's name. Could it be the reason she seemed so taken aback was that she wasn't expecting me to have the same bloodline as her? It doesn't seem logical that she would be the same person but then again, things in this world just don't make sense.

"It's you isn't it?" I ask. "You are friends with Ken'ichi aren't you?" Her expression becomes more shocked yet and it's all the answer I need. "I only ask that you teach me how to control this. I fear that I will need it later and be unable to use it properly, I got lucky once and I don't want to push my luck."

"Then just use it," she says and it seems she has her nerve back. "If you seek to learn more, than you are delving too deep. There is nothing special about it except that a very limited group of people have it, from what I know, just me and you. It is not something that you can control, at least all the time. It, in a sense, has a mind of its own."

"I'm sure it doesn't, not at first it won't. Let me try to explain it a different way; I'll use the Hyuuga bloodline as an example, it's helped me out a lot."

Gaara promptly jerks his head backwards and puts on a confused look. "What do you mean a lot?"

She winks at me and I know what she's talking about, or I think I do, luckily Gaara didn't see this because I think he might take it the wrong way. Then again, I'm not exactly sure how to take it myself.

"The bloodline itself is simple in function, basically three functions in general. If you want to see through the walls, you do. If you want to see someone's chakra veins, you do. And if you want to see everything, even what's behind you, you do. Understand now?"

Why can't she just give me a straight answer? "So it's a choice, if you want to use a bloodline, it just happens."

She bobs her head from side to side telling me that I am close but not exact. "In a way, yes. It understands your needs and wants and even when you aren't using it, it is still active and will activate itself to protect itself." Her hand shoots out but then slows and I know the bloodline has activated itself.

However, when I go to move her hand out of the way before it collides with my face, her arm begins moving faster again and zips around my own where it inevitably collides with my forehead. Her eyes, like I know mine are, are solid black.

Time returns to its normal self and with it I see Haru laughing uncontrollably and Gaara, well…confused, to be honest.

"I'm sorry," Haru manages to say through her laughter. "I've always wanted to do that."

Yeah well, that doesn't change the fact that that hurt, though I won't admit it if she asks. "How did you move that fast?" I ask her when her laughter has ceased.

"It's simple." Apparently not or I would have learned it by now. "That bloodline, the Saito bloodline, is a fairly simple bloodline though in no way is it simple to beat. Unlike an eye bloodline that only controls vision, much like the Hyuuga bloodline. This one focuses on reaction speed and speed itself--"

"I don't mean to seem rude Haru, but would you explain what's going on? Not only don't I follow you, but it boggles my mind how this never came up before," Gaara says. He's right though, he at least deserves a better explanation of what's going on, I'm sure this comes as just a greater surprise to him as it does myself. I'll leave her to explain it though, she seems to be the expert here.

"Naruto and I share and ancient bloodline that consists of all the bloodlines combined, from the Hyuugas to the Saitos to the fabled Haku."

The name brings back memories, one's I would rather not endure again but I am forced to. Losing control of my own body, fueled by the anger of Sasuke's "death". He didn't even seem sad to die, happy if anything though his face would never show it. He wanted to save Zabuza, make his dream come true and it seemed to be the only thing he cared about judging by the amount of times he repeated it. And then he sacrificed himself for Zabuza who ended up dying anyway, realizing all to late that he cared for Haku as well.

To my own shock, I had, for some reason, muttered all this and they had heard every word of it. Haru seems a bit disappointed though I can't imagine why.

"Getting back to what I was saying, in order to increase your speed, you must offer more chakra which it only uses in small rations so as not to tire out the user though it would only take a few seconds to kill someone with this technique if you're good enough. However, focusing chakra into your arms, legs, or head, depending on the results you want, and the selected body part or parts and they will increase by a set amount."

This is all happening really fast, not exactly sure I understand but I guess I'll figure it out as time goes by.

"Gaara, if you will, I would like to fight Naruto."

"Whoa! Hold on a second!" I say quickly. "I didn't think I would have to fight you, and I'd like to avoid it if possible."

"Why? Afraid I'll beat you?" she asks.

"That and I wouldn't want to hurt you, I don't know how strong you are. I'm sure Gaara would agree."

"He's right, I wouldn't want you to get hurt either."

"You two are so funny, mainly because you think I'll get hurt. Neither of you have seen me fight before and you have no clue what I'm capable of." Somehow this comment makes me a bit scared of her. If Gaara doesn't even know, I'm really not sure I want to either.

But after about half a minute of her talking really seductively to him, he eventually caves in and we are led out to an open field. It isn't really much different from the surrounding desert except it's got some pillars, a couple cracks in them but they don't seem to be in bad condition.

People have followed us here, a few people we passed but I suspect they may be Gaara's protection, not that he needs any with that sand of his still strapped to his back and only an idiot would be stupid enough to attack him in the middle of the desert.

I look over at Haru and see that she has taken off her robe, exposing an expensive-looking shirt, silk maybe and I don't want to rip it, I'm broke.

"You ready?" she asks.

"About as ready as I'll ever be," I respond.

"Okay, well don't think about going easy on me because I won't go easy on you." It's not like I have a choice, I really don't want to hurt her but by the same token, I don't want to get annihilated by her.

She pulls out a wire, was she planning this or something? But before I have time to ponder this further, her eyes become black and she disappears.

My own bloodline activates and I see her, her speed is about what it should be but disappears in a blur, she's really good. I try summoning chakra into my head, hoping she wasn't lying about that but it's not like she would have any reason to lie. When I search for her, I find that she has stopped about 10 feet behind me, the wire clutched in her hand and she is smiling.

I trace the wire, it's everywhere, high and low, left and right, I am surrounded and in the space of twenty seconds. "Try this out for size," she says and with one quick pull, the place begins coming down on me. I also have to worry about the wire, if I get caught in it, I'll get crushed for sure.

Damn, she planned this from the beginning, time for the Hyuuga and… duh, it was the Sharingan and Byakugan, Sasuke and Neji's bloodlines. No time for that now, gotta focus. Figure a way out of this that will put me in a good offensive position. It's a good thing everything is moving so slowly or I'd be doomed.

Or would I….No, it's too risky and she'll be expecting an attack because she knows I'm faster than these boulders. I look through the boulders to pinpoint her location and find the most logical path. The path I need is the tightest one so I'll have to apply more chakra to my legs so I can make it.

I run towards the hole which is closing quickly. I have to jump over an already fallen piece of pillar while at the same time keeping my head low enough not to not smack my forehead on the pillar that's falling over it, easy really. But now the hole is just barely large enough for me to crawl through though that's not exactly what I have planned. I jump and spin myself to avoid cutting my back on the jagged edge of a pillar piece and I feel the warmth of the sun hit me.

No time to waste though, I have a plan to finish. I know exactly where Haru is and I pull out a few shuriken, six to be exact, one for each gap between my fingers. I wait until my body is facing her and I throw them. _Kage Shuriken no Jutsu_ I think as I finish the proper seals.

I am about to collide with the ground but break my fall by flipping myself into an upright position and skid to a stop.

I am just in time to see the many shuriken either connect or miss their target. She pulls out a summoning scroll, this ought to be good. It's a metal pole, she can't be hoping to block all them with that thing. At the speed they're traveling and the amount there, she'll have to block one every twelve-hundredth of a second, something I doubt anyone can do.

However, her arm begins moving rapidly and I can see the shuriken being knocked away with ease until she finally stops moving and all the stars have been knocked away.

She's got a weapon so I guess I should get mine out too. I retrieve my summoning scroll and activate it. Instantly I feel the sword in my hands though it is not as heavy as it would seem, really light.

By god though, I wish I had something smaller and I can feel the sword beginning to lighten further and in my hand it has become smaller. I wonder what else this thing can do. Maybe a little less deadly, I'm not trying to kill her. But it seems that I'm pushing my luck with this attempt so I'll just have to be extra careful that's all.

I run towards her but she remains planted firmly where she is, her arms rested at her side but I can tell she'll be able to block so I have to think of a way to get her. That's it, the way my clone beat Kakashi, let's just hope this bloodline doesn't have a mind-reading thing. I just have to focus a lot of chakra into my arms and legs.

She fades from view and reappears by my side with the pole raised over her head, she'll hit me no matter how fast I move. But maybe Kyuubi can help with that. _Time for some action fox._

The pole is brought down on me and I disappear in a puff of smoke. "I win," I declare, resting the sword on her shoulder.

She turns her head slightly and smiles. "Very good, only one problem."

"What's that?"

"You've got the wrong one," her voice tells me from behind and I feel the cold metal of the pole touch the back of my neck. "You aren't the only one who can use the Shadow Clone Jutsu you know."


	6. A New Technique

-1As we sit down at an open table in one of the restaurants, apparently one of Gaara's favorite judging by the mass of people that were waiting outside to meet him, I wait patiently for a conversation to break out. It's pretty nice here, really traditional look to it, which I can respect. I have to--had to deal with Tsunade every day.

The waiter immediately stops taking the order of another couple and walks over after promising he'll be back in a minute.

"May I take your order?" he asks when he reaches the table.

Gaara stares sternly at the waiter. "Why did you do that?" he asks.

The waiter puts on a puzzled look. "Do what? I merely came over here and asked what you wanted. Surely there is no crime in that."

"You stopped taking that couple's order," Gaara replies, pointing to the two people whom the waiter had previously been attending.

"But they are merely villagers. You are the Kazekage and should be served first," the waiter tries to reason.

Gaara motions the waiter closer and begins talking in a hushed voice. "I can tell you're new at this, the rest of the waiters know my policy and I can tell they haven't told you about it. If you ever do that again, I'll have you fired. If I see a plate on my table before I see them eating, you will be fired. Now, you have five seconds to get back to that table or you will be fired, is that clear?"

The waiter nods but stays firmly planted. "1...2..." But the waiter needs no more notice and quickly dashes back to the other table.

Gaara smiles at me. I must say, he has come a long way since when I first met him.

There is another couple off to the other side of the restaurant that keeps staring at me. I first noticed them when we got here and they apparently came right after we did, right after. "We're being watched by Konoha spies," I say.

"And how do you know that?" Haru asks. "I didn't see anyone following us when we came here.

I nod my head in the direction of one of the other customers. "She's been staring at me nonstop since we got here. They came right after us and I can tell a transformation technique when I see one. Kakashi is the girl and I don't know who the man is, maybe Iruka."

"Hatake Kakashi? The Copy Ninja?" Haru asks excitedly.

"The same. He tried to attack me when I left, unfortunately he was beaten by one of my Shadow Clones," I say loudly enough for him to hear.

"I've heard a lot about him but I'd never thought I'd get to see him personally."

"Don't worry," I assure her. "You'll meet him, it's obvious why he's here. He's come to drag me back. Apparently Tsunade isn't as sure of her words as she'd like to admit. I saw him in the first village I passed through but I wasn't sure it was him because the bloodline only gave me a quick glimpse of him and I thought I was seeing things."

"How do you know his objective though?" Gaara asks.

"I was trained by him. He may not know it, but I've studied him a lot and this isn't a method he would employ in a situation that required him taking out a target. He's more confident than this and I've given him plenty of time to attack, purposely left myself open to attack."

"Maybe he didn't notice," Gaara suggests.

I shake my head. "He doesn't miss anything. On our first mission which, by the way, was supposed to be an A-rank mission, he was able to foresee an attack just because there was a puddle on the ground. Then he was able to tell that Zabuza wasn't dead because the senbon thrown by his servant were thrown in his neck, not a vital organ."

"Impressive," Haru says.

"I still don't understand this whole bloodline thing. How come I just now received it, aren't you born with that stuff?" I try to say this as hushed as possible. Not that it will matter, I'm sure he's got a jutsu that'll let him hear anything I say or a tape recorder under the table.

"Yes," Haru answers. "However, this bloodline can only be activated under 'special' circumstances before it can be activated at the user's choice. These circumstances include primarily beyond impossible odds as well as situations of extreme stress. I don't need you to tell me which because Ken'ichi has already notified me that his son was coming to seek the knowledge of this bloodline and how to use it.

"I was expecting Kyouryoku however, when I saw that you had this bloodline, it took me by surprise. I was under the impression, like many, that their first son was gone forever after the Kyuubi attacked."

"I am Kyuubi, I believe I already stated that earlier."

She nods. "You did, however, I have noticed that while you are Kyuubi, you show no characteristics of him. Kyuubi would attack anything that moved but you seemed to be a bit hesitant to fight me. Also unlike him, you seem to have trouble fighting against me whereas Kyuubi would make quick work of me. It's obvious that you don't use his full potential."

"He'll take over my body if I do, it's almost happened on several occasions."

She begins to laugh. "Who told you that? 'Cause it is very funny."

I frown, "I wasn't joking, the people that have known about it have told me the same."

She continues to laugh though. I can't see what's so funny, even if I am wrong. But why would they lie to me? Why would they have tried to keep Kyuubi from getting out?

And then the answer dawns upon me: They didn't want me to get out of their control. If I had used Kyuubi's power to its fullest, no one could have stopped me.

It was always my choice to use this creature's power. But that feeling of losing control, where did that come from?

"Simple, your body isn't used to using a power like that because, well, quite frankly you aren't as strong as Kyuubi was. Your body feels overpowered because the chakra is stronger than yours. Tonight, we will train Using that kind of power in public would be a clear-cut giveaway to anyone else trying to get to you," she smiles at my confusion.

Does this bloodline have a mind-reading technique?

"Yes it does," she says.

"Since when do you know all this stuff? You didn't even know about the shinobi until we met," Gaara says.

She smiles out of the corner of her mouth while shaking her head. "Did you actually think I got this from a farming tool?" she asks as she lifts her shirt up to her lower ribcage.

There is a huge slash across her stomach that has formed a scar. As if it wasn't odd enough to see this girl, whom I assumed had no previous training, beat me in a fight. My only question, is how he saw it in the first place, some food for thought though I dare not intrude on whatever level of relationship they share.

For all I know, she could have just been in leisure clothes but Jiriaya's perverted thought patterns have rubbed off on me and I occasionally can't help but to think like him. I guess it's not my fault though.

The last of the sun has receded by the time we get out of the restaurant. As I predicted, the couple left right after us and though they don't know it, I'm using my bloodline to keep an eye on them.

We make light conversation to avoid seeming aware to them.

"When I first became Kazekage, I was a bit worried," Gaara admits. "I wasn't sure that the villagers would accept me as anything more than a Jinchuuriki. I thought they would all be too afraid to even talk to me. Then I met Haru here, in that very restaurant and thing's just started to look up. I guess it was because they realized that I was just another one of them. They saw something in me that they didn't think I was capable of."

I nod my head slowly, taking it all in. "I'm not sure I'll ever get that kind of respect from my village, especially after I left. I thought that I was gaining their trust, thought that I was doing the right things. But what it really boiled down to is that they wanted me to follow their rule, to be the ever-loyal servant. That isn't me though."

I fade out of the conversation for a while and stare at the road ahead. I can see lights on in the various houses and a few shadows of the inhabitants. This place reminds me of the Konoha at night, peaceful, at the very least.

Once we clear the outer rim of the village, we break into a run; it would be a waste of time not to since we decided that we'd get as far away as we could before we started. We continue for a few minutes until we at last stop. It's ordinary, lots of sand, not much to behold but I guess it'll do.

"Let's get started," Haru says immediately. I'm hoping that you know how to summon chakra, but I guess it would be stupid for me to think otherwise. How else would you have beaten Gaara?"

"Luck," he suggests.

"Yes, I know how to summon chakra," I say impatiently.

"Good, then do it. Summon your chakra, all of it. Just don't kill yourself in the process, I don't want to have to explain why I'm carrying a dead body into town, not the kind of attention I prefer."

"Any specific place you'd like me to summon it to?"

She thinks for a while before she finally replies, "Do you have any special techniques that require you to summon chakra into a specific part of your body?"

"Yeah, Rasengan."

"Rasengan, interesting. Yondaime's technique; it took him quite a bit of time to master, how long did it take you?"

"About a week, that's where I got this from," I say, pulling the Hokage's necklace out of its place under my shirt.

"Very nice. I assume this was originally Tsunade's?"

"Yeah," I reply. "And it's the only thing I have left from that village." How does she know all this stuff about the Konoha? Isn't there a limit to this mind reading ability?

She waves her hand half-heartedly. "Enough with the mushy-gushy flashback moments, they're so irritating. On with the training. Summon the chakra into your hand, as much as you can and perform the technique."

I do as she says, focusing the chakra into the center point of my hand that Jiraiya had once drawn. I release it but maintain its distance from my hand, spinning it rapidly until it forms a ball then wait for further instruction.

She looks at me disappointedly. "That can't be the best you can do, is it?"

"It becomes hard for me to control after that," I answer defensively.

"That's because you aren't trying hard enough. This technique requires focus, it requires as much energy as you can muster without killing yourself. Something like that could, at best, knock me out and even that's stretching it. This move is meant to kill, not to render unconscious."

"Why should I need to kill someone? What's that going to accomplish?" I retort.

She stares at me crossly, "Because if you are unwilling to kill in this world, then you only become a target yourself. By not being ready to accomplish this, you are merely killing yourself out of pity for others. They do not care for you, they won't spare you, so why should you spare them?"

"Because I believe that killing shouldn't be necessary. If you kill a murderer, you are no better than him. Sparing people--"

"Is not an option for a shinobi. You must be prepared to do what is necessary to accomplish the mission. If you are going to save Sakura, you need to be prepared to kill."

"And why is that?"

"Because the Uchiha boy has already captured her."

"How do you know that?" I asked, stunned by this statement--no, horrified.

"Have you not once thought to use your bloodline to locate her? Are you that feeble-minded that you don't even know how to find what you seek? You are blessed with a special ability, the likes of which thousands of ninjas would kill you without a second's hesitation for that technique. Yet you hardly use it, shun it even. The Uchiha has taken Sakura and the only way you will deliver her safely is to kill him."

"No! I won't kill him, he's my friend."

"Then she will die and he will kill you. If this is the best that you can do, turn back now before you waste any more of my time because it's obvious you're nothing more than a third-rate shinobi."

"I am not third-rate," I retaliate.

"Prove it! Show me that you can perform a simple jutsu or get out of my face!" This is a complete one-eighty for her; she seemed so nice and now she's telling me I should kill Sasuke or turn back. I haven't seen anyone this mad in a long time.

I don't want to admit it, but she's right, I am capable of more than this. But what if I fail, will we all be killed by my stupidity? It'll be a risk I'll have to take.

I summon more and more chakra into my hand and the light coming from it is growing brighter by the second. It's becoming unstable, I can feel it. And it is growing larger than my hand, I have to find a way to shrink it back to normal size, make it more concentrated.

I strain to bring it back into control while steadily adding more chakra until at last I know that adding more chakra will be too dangerous.

"Good. Now, aim it in a safe direction, one preferably with a clear one-twenty degree blast radius."

I use my bloodline to pinpoint Kakashi and make sure he isn't in the blast radius. Luckily, he's behind me and I don't have to alert him to my knowledge of him hiding.

"Good, now here's the tricky part. I want you to break that Rasengan into five and have each one balanced on a different finger.

"How do I do that?" I ask, trying to shield my eyes from the bright light coming from the Rasengan.

"I told you, this is the hard part. Breaking up the Rasengan while trying to maintain its shape and rotation is exceptionally hard. I'm sure you'll get it though once you know how to do it. Simply pull your fingers inward and move them rapidly while steadily increasing the distance between them. Once your hand is stretched out all the way, stop."

Man this is confusing; and I thought learning Rasengan was hard. Somehow I manage to do as she says, on the fourth or fifth try but it's an accomplishment all the same. Maintaining each of these individually is harder than the larger one which contains the same energy as all of them combined.

"That was fairly fast," she admits. "Now you do know how to do hand seals, do you not?"

"Yes."

"Then I want you to perform ten single-hand seals. This will be a lot easier if you watch me do it using the Uchiha bloodline." Once I have gotten control of this bloodline, she performs ten hand seals, two of each while chanting, "Ho, Mizu, Kaze, Tsuchi, Rai, Tsuchi, Rai, Mizu, Kaze, Ho."

"The move is called Elemental Rasengan but it doesn't need to be said, only thought."

I copy her technique perfectly, down to the angle of the wrist. "Ho, Mizu, Kaze, Tsuchi, Rai, Tsuchi, Rai, Mizu, Kaze, Ho." _Elemental Rasengan!_

I feel the miniature Rasengans leave my fingertips but watch as they stop only a few inches away. They begin glowing different colors: red, blue, green, white, and yellow. They spin faster and faster until the all the sudden stop completely and shoot out overlapping blasts of energy across the sand.

When at last the blasts fade completely, I stand in shock at the destruction before me. Five separate areas of sand, completely transformed by the energy of the blast. There is an area of glass where the red Rasengan had shot, frozen ground where the blue Rasengan laid down its energy, solidified rock where the green blast had been aimed. Where the white Rasengan shot seems to have been torn apart by wind, just like the real Rasengan would have done only more powerful and over a larger diameter. Lastly is the area that seems to have taken the grunt of the damage. The yellow Rasengan has literally torn the ground into nothingness and what remains of it is charred.

"That was close," Haru tells me. "The only thing is that you lost control of the Rasengans after they left your fingertips. I guess I forgot to mention this but your mind controls them; you have to make them mix or it won't work properly. Then again if you happen to get five people in a row who are susceptible to the corresponding elements, you've got yourself a royal flush. Chances of that happening are zilch though."

My bloodline kicks in automatically and I know something is wrong. I quickly locate the source of the trouble, a tag. I zoom in on and read what it says; it's a sleeper tag, don't think I've ever encountered one of those before and I don't plan on needing to.

I grab a shuriken and throw it at the oncoming tag, cutting it cleanly in two.

"Come out, Kakashi. I know it's you so stop the charades," I say clearly.

"So you did know," I hear his voice respond. "You've improved a lot since you left. So why don't you give up the charades," he demands.

_Wow. It's been almost 2 weeks since I updated this. I got really lazy around the holidays and I had another story to write for English class so I've been preoccupied with about fifteen other things. Hoped you liked this one._


	7. What Happened and What is to Happen

"It's been a while Haru, how have you been?" Kakashi asks her. But I am confused, she said she wanted to meet him, wouldn't that mean that she hasn't seen him before? Or is this one of those second coming things?

"I'm fine, no thanks to you," she says angrily. Is there a connection between them that I haven't heard about?

It can't be, she's from around here, isn't she? Or did they meet when Kakashi was on a mission around here? Only time will tell, if we have that kind of time.

"You were exceptional last time, I must admit it was very hard to keep up with you. But it seems you still remember very well even though it was several years ago," he adds as she touches her stomach where her scar is.

"But you never did finish the job, did you?" she asks.

There's no doubt about it now, these two fought, and it must have been Kakashi that gave her that scar. Is he going to try and finish her off now and then go for me? I can't let him have that chance.

"You came for me," I tell him. "Leave her out of this--"

"Naruto, shut up," Haru commands. "Right now, this is what I want so stay out of it. I have some unfinished business to attend." She steps forward.

"Stay where you are, Haru." It is Gaara this time. "I forbid you to fight with Kakashi."

"You don't really have much of a choice now do you? I've waited day after day for this time to come; and now that it has, I am going to take advantage of it."

"You should listen to your boyfriend," Kakashi advises her.

"Not a chance."

She charges but I can tell she isn't using her bloodline, far too slow for that.

Kakashi on the other hand doesn't seem to be holding back. He has lifted his forehead protector from over his Sharingan eye and is ready to use it.

"Still with the same old tricks, huh Kakashi?"

"Not even close." He drops into the sand as soon as she reaches him, Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu.

"Nice try Kakashi, but I can detect you even underground." Her bloodline activates, I can feel its power even from here, she must be pouring a lot into it, she'll run herself dry if she does that.

She jumps and is followed by about half a dozen arms reaching out of the ground.

"Shadow clones won't work--" but she doesn't get to finish before Kakashi, presumably the real one, appears behind her and slams her back down to the ground.

She rolls to her side as an arm juts out of the ground and narrowly misses her but another grabs her and pulls her flat against the ground with the real Kakashi standing over her.

"This looks oddly familiar," he says. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Maybe so, but I learned from that mistake and you won't get me with it twice!" She lifts her feet and slams them hard into the ground and the arms disappear.

She continues to roll to the side, arms popping up one after the other. A shuriken flies through the air and it's about to hit its mark, and Haru'll have to chose between getting caught by the arms or the shuriken though I can't say which is worse.

But as she rolls onto her stomach, she pushes off with her hands and disappears as the shuriken lands in the ground where she had been not a second ago. She reappears several feet away and skids to a stop about ten feet from there.

"Is that the best you can do even with that stupid Sharingan?" she asks in a haughty tone.

He appears behind her, kunai placed against her throat. "You never did learn to mind your surroundings did you? And I do remember telling you never to get caught from behind didn't I?"

"Maybe, but then again, you weren't the best at it either." Her body melts away, or she is turning to sand more than likely. I seem to remember Gaara using that move; maybe she copied it with her bloodline.

She reforms behind him and tries to take hold of him. He struggles but doesn't get too far by it.

"I see you've learned a few tricks from Gaara," he says calmly. "But I just hope that you didn't only recently learn that technique because it's a bit more common these days." His body, like Haru's before him, begins to slowly break apart.

"Not so fast!" Haru yells. I sense that she will use a technique so I use my bloodline to copy it. Five seals, simple enough but even still, I can tell that she's wasting chakra, lots of it. She slaps her hand to his chest and the part of him that had turned into sand reattaches itself to its respective body part.

"What did you do to me?" he asks, bewildered.

"Body Sealing Technique, one of my personal creations. You'd be surprised by the things you think up when you're but a few inches from death. And of course, after you brought me to that condition, I could think of nothing more than finding a way to keep you from moving long enough to kill you." She does another jutsu, ground type that wraps sand around most of his body, mainly his limbs and hands.

She unlocks her arms from his and pulls away. "The question now is…" she says, circling him slowly, "how to do it."

"That's enough Haru," I say. "You've won already, there's no need to drag this on anymore."

"Shut up, Naruto! Stay out of this; this is my time, not yours and it isn't over till I say it is." She pauses for a while, thinking of what she is going to do to him, but even Gaara is powerless to stop her. She smiles. "You know what I'm going to do don't you Kakashi? Then again how could you forget that? It was one of the few missions you've failed, correct?"

"And you shall fail it too. I would honestly like to see you try and do that, go ahead and try it if you have the guts to do it." He seems more calm, more collected, but there is an uneasy air about him; is he unsure of what is going on or unsure whether he is fully right in his words?

But what are they talking about? Is this an earth technique? Must be since fire wastes too much chakra, water is about as abundant as ice cold temperatures here, and wind is a very uncommonly used technique type.

"I am not as weak as you were, I came here tonight to do away with you and guess what I'm going to do? You fell for me and that was your weakness, a big flaw at that."

"Kakashi? Fell for you?" I ask bewilderedly.

"Of course, but it was a different kind of falling for," she responds. "It wasn't so much that he fell in love with me or anything. I think it was guilt or something like it. You see, he killed my mother, a distinguished ninja in this country. And then he realized that I was there. His mission was to kill both of us, my mother as well as myself but he couldn't bring it upon himself to attack such a young girl who seemed capable of just about nothing. I attacked him out of anger even after he promised to let me live under the circumstances that I stay hidden for the rest of my life.

"Every attempt was useless though and he finally got angry and attacked back, giving me this scar," she says while tracing the scar with her finger.

"But even then she refused to quit and eventually passed out on the floor from blood loss--it was quite pathetic to look at. But I caved and helped her, bandaged her up, waited till she stabilized, and then left her."

"And now it's time to return the favor, except only one of us is going to walk away from this this time."

"Are you actually thinking about killing him?" I ask without thought or remorse.

She looks at me as though I am crazy and it's obvious that's what she thinks. "Of course I am. What else would you do if that's what someone did to your mother and attempted to do to you? Not that you can make a legitimate response to that considering that your parents used you so you'd only have to worry about yourself."

"It doesn't give you the right to kill him. Killing isn't going to bring back your mother, so what purpose does it serve?"

"Well, one purpose really. To make me feel a whole lot better." She slams her hands together making a bunch of seals.

I grab the summoning scroll from my side and open it, running towards Haru I summon the Uzumaki sword and prepare to block her attack. Surprisingly enough, a sword draws up from the sand; very elegant-looking, like a sword that belongs to a higher-classman.

She brings the sword upon Kakashi--I don't think I can make it in time. I speed up, literally pouring energy into my legs as I cut through the sand. But as I reach Haru, I notice that she has stopped moving entirely. The sword is over Kakashi's head, maybe three inches at max and I can see the sand binding him slowly falling away.

"Told you, you wouldn't be able to do it," Kakashi says cockily.

"Well…I still have enough strength to reveal that beautiful mug of yours once more." She drops the sword, cutting the fabric of his mask. She in turn falls to the ground which rises to catch her before slamming hard into the ground.

I look back at Gaara. "You couldn't have done that before?" I ask in disbelief.

"She would have dodged it without hardly any effort," he replies dismally.

"You control sand! We're in the desert! And you couldn't even detain your girlfriend? What the heck?" I yell.

"You're still as pathetic as you were back then," Kakashi says to Haru's body. "Now on with business--"

"What happened to her?" I cut in.

"I would think the answer to that is obvious; she ran out of chakra. She's lucky to be alive--"

"Why did she run out? Did you use a jutsu on her to drain her chakra?"

His eyes narrow as if to question my sanity. "Of course not--"

"Then why did she run out? Everyone can tell when they're at their limit--"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't cut me off again," he says impatiently. "But to answer your question, normally one will be able to tell when their limit has been reached. She is different though; sort of a variation of Rock Lee only with worse repercussions. She can't detect chakra, sure she can use it, but when it comes to sensing it, not even a little. Maybe you noticed she activated her bloodline to detect me underground when it would have cost less energy to simply sense my chakra."

For the first time, I notice, or at least recognize the fact that Kakashi's mask has split and I can see his face, all of it. It isn't anything special, what you'd expect from seeing the top half. The scar on his eye extends nearly to the bottom of his face where it cuts just short of his jawbone and both his mouth and nose are pretty much the way you imagine them to be.

He sees me staring and is quick to recover. "Well you know how much I hate formalities so lets skip straight to the point, are you coming back now or will this end up in another fight?"

"Another fight? This will be the first, or are you still in denial that my clone defeated you?"

"I guess that's a no."

"I'm not going back now that I know that Sakura has been caught so I will stop at nothing to beat you. Don't expect anything less than my best," I warn him. But even my warning won't serve him any good at this point.

He assumes a stance, but it wont do him any good, my clone is already positioned right under him as a distraction. Only thing that counts now is strategy and it's about to come into play.

_I am so sorry that I haven't updated this in a while. It probably isn't as good as the previous chapters because I'm out of practice. I've been so busy with midterms and what not that I haven't had any time to myself. But I hope you enjoyed it all the same. _


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